It is far more serious and can sometimes have fatal consequences. Because of this, it is vital that the signs of teen depression are picked up quickly. But why are teenagers so vulnerable to depression?
There are many pressures that teens face which can all add up to cause teen depression. They could be facing exams, have peer pressure, pressure from their parents, there could be confusion about their sexuality or they could feel that they are unpopular with their peers.
Teens do not have the maturity in which to deal with all these conflicts and not being able to deal with then can lead to severe depression. So what signs should we be looking out for?
There are many signs of teen depression, but the main factor is to notice a change in behaviour. It could occur suddenly or come on more gradually and a teen can exhibit all of the signs or just a few.
Here are some signs of teen depression:
Teens who are exhibiting these signs of depression are in danger of becoming even more depressed if they do not receive help. This can lead to teen suicide. It is important to know what the signs of teen suicide are so that you can act quickly.
These behaviours should be taken extremely seriously and not attributed to typical moody teen behaviour. If your teen is exhibiting any of these signs, then get them to see a professional such as a doctor or counsellor.
There are things that a parent can do to help alleviate teen depression:
One of the best things you can do as a parent is to strengthen your relationship with your teen. This will keep you in good stead if there are problems further down the road.
So how do you do this? Try putting yourselves in their shoes, remember how you felt as a teen so that you can empathise with them.
Recall how your parents treated you and if it was good, then try and replicate that. If it was bad, think about how you can do things differently. Remember that as a teen every emotion is heightened, every problem is magnified and every feeling is exaggerated. So what might seem like a tiny thing to you is your teen’s whole world.
When trying to help your teen, concentrate on their feelings – not their actual behaviour. Behaviour is just a sign of what is going on inside their heads, so use the behaviour to help to figure out what’s happening.
So ways of tackling unhealthy behaviour is for you to acknowledge it but to try and understand why they are doing it. For example, you might say: “You seem to be sleeping more during the day, is everything ok at school or home with us?”
Making sure your teen can come to you whatever their behaviour is key to helping them. I did not have the best relationships with my mother when I was a teen. However, I always remember her saying to me that I could go to her no matter what I had done. And I would have done.
Teen depression is a serious problem and if yours is exhibiting signs, it is easy to feel that you cannot help them. However, with proper counselling and help from the family teen depression doesn’t have to continue or get worse.
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